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The first month of this 2009-2010 NHL season is already behind us and I thought it would be a good time to check out how the Montreal Canadiens initiated their season.

The injury to defenseman Andrei Markov during the first game of the season revealed the fragile state of the Canadiens' defensive unit. The team allowed a ton of shots a few games later resulting in an ugly five-game losing streak.

The departure of Mike Komisarek, Mathieu Dandenault and Francis Bouillon was patched by GM Bob Gainey with the acquisition of Hal Gill, Paul Mara, Jaroslav Spacek and later on, Marc-Andre Bergeron. I don't see any significant improvement at that position from last season.

But on a positive note, I really liked Paul Mara's physical contribution and on-ice presence during ...